Some buskers are decent, while some are horrendous. Whatever the level of talent, there are some songs you can be assured of hearing when you walk past those that lurk in malls with guitars. The coolest busking song I heard was Pink Floyd's 'Money', performed by a homeless looking guy with a Tom Waits voice and an acoustic guitar, sitting on the ground underneath an ATM at about midnight. The worst is probably that wildly off-key lady who blasts people half to death in the Elizabeth St mall; if you've encountered her, you will know what I mean.
Here are some busking classics:
(I've noticed a lot of Australian buskers pick Australian songs...)
'Holy Grail' (Hunters and Collectors) - An instantly recognisable and likable song, which is a good way to keep people listening if you sing it well enough.
'Brown Eyed Girl' (Van Morrison) - Golden oldie, means people don't need to listen to their radio.
'Miss You Love' (Silverchair) - This is a popular song for younger buskers to perform. Teenage buskers are usually pretty bad, and this song is pretty annoying. What a combo.
'Heart of Gold' (Neil Young) - It's like it was written for buskers.
'Reckless' (Australian Crawl) - This song doesn't make any sense. It starts off about going to the jetty at Circular Quay and noticing the Manly ferry (not a big, masculine boat of testosterone - Manly is a place in Sydney)... then it starts talking about laying down your guns because "she don't like that kind of behaviour". If someone has a gun (let alone two or more of them), and is pointing it at someone - of course she's not going to like that sort of behaviour. "Don't be so reckless" seems a very understated plea... "reckless" is taking a corner a little bit fast, or eating a raw onion (OK, maybe that's not reckless); shooting someone is a VERY BAD act of violence! Calling it "reckless" is like saying "ooh that was a bit naughty!" /end ridiculous rant
'Throw Your Arms Around Me' (Hunters and Collectors) - When you think about it, it's kind of inappropriate - some guy trying to catch someone's eye, whilst singing "we may never meet again so shed your skin and let's get started". And, imagine if humans could shed their skin like a snake... I reckon that would be quite off-putting.
'Wonderwall' (Oasis) - More of a cliché than a song, these days.
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7 comments:
I think that your Pink Floyd man is up my way at the moment.
A few weeks ago I was having a coffee in a mall and saw a man with a roughly hewn beard and a limited range leaning up against a wall screeching out song after song by Pink Floyd.
After I finished my coffee I scrounged some shrapnel from my pocket and tossed it in his blue ice cream container.
He stopped the song he was singing, looked in his container to see how much coin he had, picked up his possessions and walked past me saying "classic steak pie, Banjo's" before walking off in the direction of the aforementioned bakery.
"not a big, masculine boat of testosterone"
Awwwww... bummer.
Ha ha! "classic steak pie, Banjo's". What a great moment. I was hoping that 'Money' was the only song he knew how to play - that would have made him even cooler.
Laura, check your nearest harbour - I sent a boat-load of testosterone over to you.
Maybe that comment could have been saved for private email.
LOL!
I think you might be taking some of these just a touch too literally. :)
"Reckless" is about a girlfriend of James Reyne who had been put off by the rock 'n' roll lifestyle, and walked out on him. Now she's coming back (via ferry), and he's reminding himself not to do anything stupid that might drive her away again. That's what the title refers to.
And "Throw Your Arms..." is... a love song for real men. I've said it before, I know, but it's a refreshing change from all these sappy love songs guys write because they think it's what women want to hear. Mark Seymour does use some unusual metaphors but to me they just add the charm and overall effectiveness of the song.
That is all. :)
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